ECDC promotes the performance of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes, in which laboratories are sent simulated clinical specimens or bacterial isolates for testing by routine or reference laboratory methods. EQA schemes, or laboratory proficiency testing, provide information about the accuracy of different characterisation and typing methods as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and the sensitivity of the methods in place to detect a certain pathogen or novel resistance patterns.
In 2014, 2 760 confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease were reported to TESSy. The notification rate was 0.5 cases per 100 000 population, which is lower than in previous years.
Three imported cases of rabies were reported in 2014. Every year, a small number of human cases is reported in Europe, either travel related or autochthonous.
This issue of the Communicable Disease Threat Report (CDTR) covers the period 31 July - 6 August 2016 and includes updates on Zika virus, yellow fever in Angola, chikungunya, dengue, West Nile virus and polio.
Illnesses caused by infectious diseases are common in children in schools or other childcare settings. Currently there is no common EU approach to the control of communicable diseases in schools or other childcare settings, and existing information is uncertain.
In July 2014, a panel of two viable isolates of N. meningitidis of the major disease-causing serogroups with three simulated cerebrospinal fluid (non-culture) samples for molecular studies, was sent by UK NEQAS to 30 reference laboratories in the IBD-labnet surveillance network for quality assessment testing. This report summarises the diagnostic results submitted by the participating laboratories.